Written by Michelle Kretzer
Update: April 8 at 1:30 p.m. ET: Although bebe acknowledged receipt of PETA's cease-and-desist letter and promised us a response, PETA has not received one and bebe continues to misrepresent itself to the public as a fur-free company. So PETA has filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) regarding the retailer's consumer deception. The bureau can now ask bebe to resolve PETA's grievance. It can also post our complaint to bebe's BBB webpage, which could negatively impact the company's BBB rating.
Originally posted on January 28 at 11:25 a.m. ET:
Faced with backlash from customers for selling real fur, bebe could have done the honorable thing and pulled it from its shelves. Instead, the company decided to lie.
As everyone knows, some customers won't shop for anything in a store that sells fur, just as they won't buy "pet" supplies in a store that sells animals. Even though bebe currently sells rabbit and chinchilla fur in some of its stores, on two separate occasions—one as recent as January 15—callers to bebe's customer service line were told that bebe doesn't sell fur. One caller recorded her conversation, which you can listen to here. PETA's attorneys have sent a cease-and-desist advisory to Steve Birkhold, bebe's CEO, letting him know that if bebe doesn't either start being honest with customers or actually stop selling real fur, PETA may take the company from the mall to the courthouse for engaging in false advertising, which is a violation of both state and federal laws.
It's no wonder that bebe wants to cover up the fact that it's selling real fur. In China, where bebe sources much of its fur, workers pull rabbits out of cages by their ears and stun the screaming animals with electrical devices. And in China as well as other countries, animals are bludgeoned to death, electrocuted, and often even skinned alive, as documented in this undercover footage.
As bebe is likely learning, few people are willing to patronize retailers that support such cruelty. Let bebe know that you are one of many potential customers who will refuse to buy its clothing until its shelves truly are fur-free.
Written by PETA
China's fur farms—which supply more than half of the finished fur garments imported for sale in the U.S.—are among the world's most barbaric. So writer Andy Best and local Shanghai artist Kaine Lv have turned up the volume on the Chinese fight against skins. The two DIYers recently teamed up with music promoter Split Works and rallied Shanghai's underground music scene to produce the city's first-ever PETA Asia photo shoot.
To celebrate the milestone, Best and Lv hosted an anti-fur concert at Yu Yin Tang—Shanghai's hottest rock venue—headed by indie sensation Candy Shop.
Best, Lv, and Candy Shop are proof that the grassroots approach to taking action is the fastest way to turn heads. We can't wait to see what the resourceful, compassionate folks in Shanghai come up with next to battle fur.
Written by Logan Scherer
Keeping on top of the media sensation that is Daniel Angerer's "Mommy's Milk Cheese" is like trying to chase an out-of-control toddler. The compassionate concoction has some skeptics who claim that the only thing that goes with this food is whine, but the fromomage has also attracted some intrigued fans.
Famed foodie and critic Gael Greene tasted it and declared the flavor "quite bland, slightly sweet, the mild taste overwhelmed by the accompanying apricot preserves and a sprinkle of paprika. It's the unexpected texture that's so off-putting. Strangely soft, bouncy, like panna cotta." But over at the Today Show, one unsuspecting eater found no difference between mommy's cheese and animal-derived cheese. The sneak-attack taste-test starts at 7:34:
PETA's on board with human breast-milk cheese, and no one makes the argument better than the lactating lady herself, Lori Mason, who said, "People are eating milk from a cow or a goat or a yak or whatever and the milk from those animals feed their young just like the milk from humans feed their young. And while adults of most species aren't meant to eat dairy or drink milk, we do. So if anything, it's less of a stretch to eat human's milk. … It's the most nutritious thing on the planet for humans."
As one of America's toughest trainers, The Biggest Loser's Bob Harper is hardcore. He's taken 100 pounds off a man in a mere seven weeks (remember Rudy?), breaks contestants down and builds them back up during Last Chance Workouts, and gives us the skinny with his Trainer Tips on NBC. Now he's focused on challenging the country to a 24-hour vegan cleanse.
Bob's latest tweet reads, "Your Challenge today is to go the next 24 hours, starting now eliminating ALL animal products. Good for your heart AND the environment!!"
Go vegan? But how? Well, in the famed words of Bob himself, "Just stop talking and do it!" Or, you know, a vegetarian/vegan starter kit works just as well.
Written by Christine Doré
Ryan Gosling is the heartthrob with a heart of gold—and now he's got a message for the Golden Arches: Stop scalding chickens to death in defeathering tanks. The Oscar-nominated actor just fired off a letter on PETA's behalf to McDonald's CEO Jim Skinner asking him to adopt a less cruel slaughter method. Controlled-atmosphere killing (CAK), which McDonald's European suppliers already use, would eliminate the worst abuses currently faced by chickens who are killed for McNuggets.
Ryan himself said it best in Half Nelson: "The only constant is change." By changing to a more humane slaughter method, McDonald's would evolve and show the world some compassion for animals. If you could say anything to McD's, what would you tell them?
While vegans are busy fighting for animal equality, members of the U.K. Parliament have been pushing for vegan equality. Under a proposed landmark law that has been passed by the House of Commons and is currently under consideration in the House of Lords, U.K. vegans would officially be granted the same freedom of expression that the government currently gives religious groups. The Equality Bill—drafted by Harriet Harman, the leader of the House of Commons and the minister for women and equality—would require public institutions such as schools to actively consider how their policies affect people whose beliefs affect their day-to-day choices.
With this push to end discrimination, the next logical step for British citizens is clear: Join PETA U.K. and help put an end to every brand of prejudice.
I love to play blackjack, but when it comes to poker, I can't remember if a flush beats a full house or vice versa, so I usually breeze right by those tables.
But you can bet I'll be watching to see how a high-stakes vegetarian prop wager made between poker pros Phil Ivey and Tom "durrrr" Dwan on High Stakes Poker plays out. Dwan challenged Ivey to go vegetarian for a year, and Ivey accepted the million-dollar bet, noting that he'd been thinking about going meatless anyway.
Considering all the health and environmental benefits that a vegetarian diet offers—plus the endless possibilities for mouthwatering animal-free cuisine—that million-dollar prize will be a cinch for Ivey to win.
Up for a little side bet of your own? Take our 30-day vegan challenge—I bet you'll feel healthier than ever before.
Written by Karin Bennett
PETA's longtime friend and supporter, Bob Barker, along with some "Barker PETA Beauties," joined our own Ingrid E. Newkirk today to cut the ribbon on the start of renovations to our new Los Angeles office, aptly named—what else?—the Bob Barker Building.
Bob Barker donated $2.5 million to help us open our new location, and time after time after time, he has shown his unwavering support for animal protection. For decades, he influenced millions of people every day by ending each taping of The Price Is Right with his message to spay or neuter companion animals—a message that his successor, Drew Carey, also uses for his sign-off.
We're grateful to have Barker's continued support—and we're delighted to name PETA's new Los Angeles office in his honor.
"It's the triumph of fake fur … because fake fur changed so much and became so great now that you can hardly see a difference."—Karl Lagerfeld on his show at Paris Fashion Week
In a recent interview with the Telegraph, notorious fur pimp Karl Lagerfeld, the head designer and creative director for Chanel, spills about the triumph of fake fur. Lagerfeld's remarks have us hoping that it's the beginning of a new era for his fashion line. My favorite sound bite? "You cannot fake chic, but you can be chic in fake fur."
Yes, you've read that correctly, and no, the headline wasn't ripped from The Onion. In a joint press conference this morning, the Australian Meat Industry Employees Union and the World Society for the Protection of Animals agreed that the live export of sheep who were once abused for their wool is destroying the nation's economy.
Every year on the grueling journey from Australia to their slaughter in the Middle East, millions of sheep endure weeks, and sometimes months, on extremely crowded, disease-ridden ships with little access to food or water and through all weather extremes. Many sheep fall ill, become stuck in feces and are unable to move, or are trampled to death by other sheep. Those who survive are dragged from the ships, are thrown into the backs of trucks and cars, and eventually have their throats cut while they are still conscious.
Hopefully, this surprise support from Australia's meat industry will mean less suffering for sheep. And who knows, maybe the next shocking headline we'll see will read, "Australian Meat Workers Oppose Meat" (considering the energy, land, and resources wasted by the production of meat—a guy can dream, can't he?).
If you have a general question for PETA and would like a response, please e-mail Info@peta.org. If you need to report cruelty to an animal, please click here. If you are reporting an animal in imminent danger and know where to find the animal and if the abuse is taking place right now, please call your local police department. If the police are unresponsive, please call PETA immediately at 757-622-7382 and press 2.
Follow PETA on Twitter!